BOE Donating $500,000 to Booster Club for Plastic Grass Purchase

In our previous blog post we noted that Senator Craig Zucker and Delegate Anne Kaiser are sponsoring a Bond Bill that will give $200,000 to the Damascus High School Athletic Boosters for the purchase of a plastic grass football field.  Note Zucker and Kaiser are not giving the funds to the Board of Education, they are giving the cash directly to parents.  Anyone wonder why that is? 

In addition to the $200,000 from the State of Maryland, the Damascus High School Athletic Boosters Club are also receiving, or have received, $500,000 from the Montgomery County Board of Education. 

Clearly the MCPS Budget is flush with cash if the Board of Education has an extra $500,000 to spend on plastic grass. 

Meanwhile, if your child is in a school with high radon readings, mold issues, HVAC issues, bathroom renovation needs, or your child is in a classroom trailer remember that plastic grass for football fields is the #1 priority of the Board of Education.  Your child's school needs will just have to wait.

   BOE Gives $500,000 to Booster Club House Bill 0997B by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

$275,000 + Board of Education Approves Contract for New Superintendent Jack Smith

Board of Education Approves Contract for New Superintendent Jack Smith: Smith will start July 1 at an annual salary of $275,000

Petition: Stop Maryland Serial Rapists and Child Molesters- Pass HB218 and SB235

Parents' Coalition note: We are amazed by the fact that this petition was started by the Office of the State Attorney for Baltimore.  On the other hand, here in Montgomery County our office of State's Attorney questions why trafficking and leaving kids with known sex offenders should be included in our public school policies.  We do not see the same level of advocacy for children here in Montgomery County that is being seen in Baltimore.  Why is that? 
 

We need your support to pass Maryland House Bill 218... and  Maryland Senate Bill 235...  This legislation will close loopholes that allow serial predators to hide their prior bad acts from juries.

Under current law, Maryland prosecutors are prohibited from introducing evidence of a defendant’s past predatory sex acts as evidence to be considered during trial. For years, Nelson Clifford, convicted serial rapist, used this loophole in the law to escape justice four times before he was finally convicted and sentenced last year.  Clifford was able to convince juries again and again that the sex was consensual and we were forbidden from telling juries about his other charges.

We cannot let another Nelson Clifford slip through our grasp. We need to pass HB218 and SB235 now to stop other serial rapists and child molesters before they can attack again.
Sign the petition today to tell your representatives in the Maryland General Assembly that it is time to stop serial rapists and child molesters.  In the interest of justice, in the interest of fairness, in the interest of the safety of your family and friends, join our fight today.

 https://www.change.org/p/maryland-general-assembly-stop-serial-rapists-and-child-molesters-pass-hb157-sb235?recruiter=1617484&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_term=mob-xs-no_src-no_msg

Damascus BOOSTER CLUB Getting $200,000 of State $$$ to Buy Plastic Grass for Field They DO NOT OWN

1 ton of crumb rubber delivered to Wootton HS.

Senate Bill 987 (details shown below) would authorize the handing over of $200,000 in state funds to a "booster club" for the purchase of an artificial turf football field for a MCPS high school.

No matter that the Booster Club DOES NOT OWN the high school football field. What's a little technicality like ownership of land when state dollars are being handed out?

When did the land owner, you know that group called the Board of Education, hand over this high school football field to a "booster club?"

Why would the Maryland legislature approve a bill like this? One reason would be to allow this booster club to purchase artificial turf with a crumb rubber infill. The Montgomery County Council has said they do not want to purchase any more artificial turf fields with crumb rubber infill, but this money would be bypassing the County Council and the Board of Education! These funds would go straight to parents who could conceivably buy whatever type of plastic grass infill they wanted and would presumably not have to abide by state contracting laws or bid requirements.

Entitled:	Creation of a State Debt - Montgomery County - Damascus High School Turf Field
	Sponsored by:	Delegate Kaiser
	Status:	In the House - Hearing 3/12 at 1:00 p.m.

Summary Documents History

Synopsis:	Authorizing the creation of a State Debt not to exceed $200,000, the proceeds to be used as a grant to the Board of Directors of the Damascus High School Athletic Booster Club Inc. for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, and capital equipping of a turf field for Damascus High School, located in Montgomery County; providing for disbursement of the loan proceeds, subject to a requirement that the grantee provide and expend a matching fund; etc.
Analysis:	Not available at this time
All Sponsors:	Delegates Kaiser and Luedtke
Additional Facts:	Cross-filed with: SB0987 Bill File Type: Regular Effective Date(s): June 1, 2016
Committee(s):	Appropriations

Almanac: Report Addresses School-to-Prison Pipeline

The Montgomery County Council received the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) report on “The School-to-Prison Pipeline in Montgomery County” on March 1.

#The report describes the increased risk of juvenile delinquency and criminal justice system involvement among children who have been suspended or expelled from school in Montgomery County.

#The council’s Education Committee will hold a worksession on the OLO report on Monday, March 7.

#OLO found that the School-to-Prison Pipeline within the county mirrors national trends in disproportionality by race, ethnicity, gender, and special education status, but the Pipeline in the county is shrinking.

#OLO also found that while many local agency practices align with best practices for stemming for the Pipeline, opportunities exist for improvement.

#Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) out-of-school removal rate for out-of-school suspensions and expulsions has declined by half since 2011 and is the lowest rate in the state. Juvenile arrests in Montgomery County have also decreased, as have intakes at the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS), referrals to the County’s juvenile justice diversion programs, and the number of juvenile delinquency cases adjudicated by the Circuit Court.

#Ninety percent of out-of-school removals and arrests within MCPS schools occur for three sets of offenses: fighting/threats/attacks, disrespect/insubordination/disruption and dangerous substances. Few children are charged with the most serious offenses that include sex offenses, arson or aggravated assault. Similarly, three in four cases referred to DJS are for misdemeanors and status offenses...

...Students with disabilities account for one in 10 MCPS students but account for three in 10 out-of-school removals. And Latinos’ share of students removed from schools exceeds their share of MCPS enrollment..

http://www.potomacalmanac.com/news/2016/mar/02/potomac-brief-report-addresses-school-prison-pipel/

Breaking: MCEA Shuts Down Local Apple Ballot PAC

The Montgomery County Education Association Fund for Quality Schools PAC, known to voters as the Apple Ballot mailer that would come each election time, is no more.  The Montgomery County PAC was shut down and had a zero balance in their last report.

Apparently, the contributions of teachers alone were simply not enough to sustain this local Apple Ballot PAC.  Recall The Washington Post's expose of the funding scheme that the Montgomery County Apple Ballot PAC was using back in 2010. 

...Candidates who receive the union's stamp of approval are also then expected to pay.  As far as we know, this arrangement is unique; in elections elsewhere, unions and other special interests contribute to candidates, not vice versa. But such is the overweening power of the teachers union in Montgomery that the usual rules are turned upside down. And it's no coincidence that the union's toxic influence in local elections is matched by its success in squeezing unaffordable concessions from the county in contract negotiations -- at taxpayers' expense.
In the latest elections for the Montgomery County Council, in 2006, most candidates on the union-approved (and trademarked) "Apple Ballot" coughed up the maximum contribution allowed by state law, $6,000, to a PAC run by the Montgomery County Education Association, as the teachers union is known. Union-backed candidates for the Board of Education also paid handsomely. Supposedly, these funds covered the cost of the union's mailings to constituents and other activities on behalf of its anointed candidates -- although there is no real accounting on a campaign-by-campaign basis. In theory, these contributions are voluntary. In fact, several sources told us that the MCEA's chief political strategist, Jon Gerson, made it clear that he expected candidates, once endorsed, to pay what they "owed" for the union's campaign on their behalf. One candidate, asked to explain the decision to pay, answered concisely: "Fear."...

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020404421.html

After that, the $6,000 arrangements dried up.  Then, the Apple Ballot was involved in this scandal:

...At issue are phone calls by Jon Gerson, chief political strategist for the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), in which his interlocutors say that he threatened to withhold the group’s political support from anyone backing county school board hopeful Rebecca K. Smondrowski. “Support her, and you can just forget about ever getting our support” is how one activist characterized the message from Mr. Gerson. Ms. Smondrowski, whom we have endorsed, is a candidate for the Montgomery County Board of Education in Tuesday’s contest, which will include two candidates backed by the MCEA, Fred Evans and Jeanne Ellinport.
Included in the effort to siphon support from Ms. Smondrowski, sources told us, were personal slanders. “I don’t recall” was Mr. Gerson’s initial response when we asked him about them. When pressed, he said that he doesn’t believe that the conversations occurred in the way described to us, arguing that the credibility of those who insist on anonymity must be doubted. We, too, wish that those who told us of their encounters with Mr. Gerson would agree to be named, but the teachers union has such an outsize role in Montgomery politics that few dare to cross it...

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-smear-campaign-in-montgomery-county-against-rebecca-smondrowski/2012/03/30/gIQAZN63lS_story.html

And now, this:

 

   CampaignFinanceReport Public 97dfced2 8618 4325 9db6 6e4b9749f306(2) by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

BOE Member Dumped by Apple Ballot in Primary

Montgomery County Teachers’ Union Won’t Make Endorsement In Five-Way Board of Education Primary: MCEA endorsed incumbent Phil Kauffman in 2012 primary and made endorsements in busy 2014 primary season...
 
...Tom Israel, executive director of the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), confirmed the union’s representative assembly of about 130 members discussed a possible endorsement Wednesday night. The MCEA requires at least a 58 percent majority vote for any one candidate in order to provide that candidate with an endorsement.
The non-endorsement could be seen as a setback for incumbent Phil Kauffman, the two-term at-large member from Olney who garnered the MCEA’s endorsement in his 2012 primary run...

HB 217: A Bill to Require Agendas to be set in Advance

Entitled:	Open Meetings Act - Requirements for Providing Agendas
	Sponsored by:	Delegate Krebs
	Status:	In the House - Hearing 2/24 at 1:00 p.m.

Summary Documents History

Synopsis:	Requiring a public body to provide an agenda containing specified information if the agenda has been determined at the time a public body gives notice of the meeting or, if an agenda has not been determined at the time of the meeting notice, the public body shall provide the agenda at least 24 hours before the meeting; and authorizing a public body to provide an agenda within a reasonable time after a meeting is held under specified circumstances.
Analysis:	Fiscal and Policy Note
All Sponsors:	Delegates Krebs, Fisher, Kittleman, and W. Miller
Additional Facts:	Introduced in a prior session as: HB0583 Session: 2015 Regular Session Bill File Type: Regular Effective Date(s): October 1, 2016
Committee(s):	Health and Government Operations
Broad Subject(s):	State Government - Agencies, Offices, and Officials
Narrow Subject(s):	Administrative Agencies -see also- Electronic Government Committees and Commissions -see also- Political Committees Notices Public Information

Jury: Montgomery Co. failed to reasonably accommodate blind worker

Montgomery County violated federal law by failing to provide a blind woman computer software that would have allowed her to continue to work as an information specialist in a county call center, a jury ruled Friday.
When the county decided to consolidate the Department of Health and Human Services call center, where Yasmin Reyazuddin worked, into the county’s 311 call center, officials refused to integrate the screen access software Reyazuddin had been using, which allowed her to access computer programs that converted information on a computer screen into synthesized speech or Braille.
Instead, the county denied her a job in the 311 center and relegated her to a lower-level position where she lacked meaningful work, said Joe Espo, an attorney for Reyazuddin.
“The verdict demonstrates that simply saying, ‘We got new software, and it’s difficult to make it usable,’ is not an adequate response to individuals with disabilities in the workforce,” said Espo, a partner with Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP in Baltimore. “Employers should think about accessibility when they’re purchasing software and when they’re configuring it for use.”
...
In Reyazuddin’s case, she was at first given no work assignments once she was relegated to the lower-level position, according to her complaint. She requested additional tasks but still was not given more than four hours of work in each eight-hour day, her lawsuit claimed.
“Giving someone a paycheck is not a reasonable accommodation,” Espo said. “It’s not just a paycheck – it’s the opportunity to do meaningful work and have the same advancement and promotional opportunities as others in similar positions do. It’s very hard to demonstrate competence and achievement and to present yourself for advancement if what you’re doing is a bunch of make-work and supervisors don’t want you around. It’s hard to excel at doing nothing.”

 http://thedailyrecord.com/2016/03/01/jury-montgomery-co-failed-to-reasonably-accommodate-to-blind-worker/

MC Delegates Ana Sol Gutierrez, Aruna Miller, Marc Korman, and Kirill Reznik want to Eliminate Manadatory Audit of MCPS

Currently, Maryland law calls for a state audit of MCPS every 6 years.  MCPS has only had one of these audits, as the second audit from 2015 has not been released yet.

Yes, the MCPS audit is over a year overdue.  But, no matter, Delegates Gutierrez, Miller, Korman and Reznik want to eliminate the legislative requirement for these audits.  These four Montgomery County Delegates all sit on the Maryland House Appropriations Committee where yesterday they all voted to approve this legislation that will eliminate the mandatory 6 year audit of MCPS. 

Why audit MCPS' $2.4 billion dollar budget? Isn't it more fun to just let MCPS do what-ever with your tax dollars?  Knowing how your tax dollars are being spent can be so annoying. This link goes to the 2009 MCPS Audit.  

Zero oversight.  That's what we love here in Montgomery County. 

Here is the vote of the House Appropriations Committee showing how our Montgomery County Delegates voted on this bill. Spoiler alert: They voted to support the elimination of state audits! 

   hb0352_app by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Drug arrest/assault at BCC High School

Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row: Assault reported at Suburban Hospital, drug arrest...: Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on February 29, according to crime data: Vehicle burglary. 7100 block Woodmont A...

ABC7: Teenage prostitution ring busted, pimp claims to also work as school bus driver

ROCKVILLE, Md. (ABC7) — Montgomery County Police have charged two men, one who claims to be a Prince George's County school bus driver, in connection with a sex trafficking ring involving a 16-year-old girl.



http://wjla.com/news/crime/teenage-prostitution-ring-busted-pimp-claims-to-also-work-as-school-bus-driver

Breaking: Parents Stop Parkland MS Cell Tower! But, No Official Notification Yet.

The Parents' Coalition has learned that MCPS has finally withdrawn their proposal to build a cell tower in Parkland Magnet Middle School's loading dock.  However, no formal memorandum of this decision has been released by MCPS or the Board of Education as of today. 

Parkland MMS Parents, community members and principal were all opposed to this horrendous plan that would have disrupted school operations, taken away parking spaces, and put a cell tower right next to the school.

Councilmember and Education Committee Chair Craig Rice believes that all schools in MCPS should be seen as equal by parents.  However, Councilmember Rice refuses to acknowledge that MCPS Red Zone (high free lunch population of students) schools are treated very differently from MCPS Green Zone schools.

The Parkland MMS cell tower proposal is a case in point.

When the Wootton High School (Green Zone) parents and community were opposed to a cell tower being built at that school, the plans for the cell tower were withdrawn within 48 hours of the PTA/community meeting and parents received a formal memorandum from the superintendent confirming that outcome.  See the memorandum below.

When the Parkland MMS (Red Zone)  parents held the identical meeting and expressed the identical opposition, MCPS refused to even acknowledge the opposition for 20 days and still has not produced a formal memorandum cancelling the project.  Parkland MMS parents have been forced to continue their advocacy.  Instead of spending time with their children, these Red Zone parents must continue to advocate to assure that this cell tower project has been cancelled.

Wootton HS parents got immediate results from their advocacy, Parkland MMS parents must wait weeks to find out if their identical advocacy is being acknowledged by MCPS and the Board of Education. 

Councilmember Rice, you call this equity?   

   May 22 2014 Memo From Star by Magnet Mom

House expected to OK change to school funding formula that has cost Baltimore

The House of Delegates gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a bill that would change the statewide calculation of education aid, which has cost Baltimore and several other jurisdictions money in recent years.
Baltimore Democratic Del. Maggie McIntosh, who heads the powerful House Appropriations Committee, introduced the bill to address what she has called the problem of "artificial wealth" that has dragged down the amount of school aid for which Baltimore is eligible.
The city's recent increases in its assessable property tax base haven't been matched by revenue because many of the largest projects that have driven Baltimore's wealth calculation are covered by agreements with developers to forgo some property taxes to encourage their investment.
The legislation would change the formula by accounting for those agreements, known as tax increment financing. Over the past year, the increasing wealth formula — along with a decrease in student enrollment — has cost the city an estimated $24 million in state aid.

 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-city-school-funding-20160301-story.html

BOE Member: Safety in Technology Committee is Needed

This did not happen in Montgomery County.  

A motion to set up a Safety in Technology Committee was made by Ann Miller, Board of Education member in Baltimore County.  In the video clip of the March 1, 2016, Baltimore County Board of Education meeting you can watch as the Baltimore County Board of Education immediately shelved the motion without discussion. 

Sound familiar? That's how MABE trains Board of Education members in Maryland.  MABE indoctrinates school board members to not follow Robert's Rules of Order, and to not allow Board members to speak unless they have pre-approval from the chair.  No public process is allowed. Watch the video to see how that looks in a live Board of Education meeting.  

State Debt for Private School That Already Got Entire MCPS High School Building for Free

MCPS students go to school in overseas containers.

Is your child in a classroom trailer? Consider switching to a private school.  

In Montgomery County private schools are given entire MCPS high school buildings for free, and additional legislation (see below for House Bill 901 introduced this session) authorizing the creation of state debt to provide the private school with additional funds.  No classroom trailers for private schools!

Entitled:	Creation of a State Debt - Montgomery County - Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy
	Sponsored by:	Delegate Kramer
	Status:	In the House - Hearing 3/14 at 9:00 a.m.

Summary Documents History

Synopsis:	Authorizing the creation of a State Debt in the amount of $100,000, the proceeds to be used as a grant to the Board of Directors of the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy for the acquisition, planning, design, construction, repair, renovation, reconstruction, and capital equipping of the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, located in Montgomery County; providing for disbursement of the loan proceeds, subject to a requirement that the grantee provide and expend a matching fund; etc.
Analysis:	Not available at this time
All Sponsors:	Delegates Kramer, Cullison, and Morales
Additional Facts:	Cross-filed with: SB0444 Bill File Type: Regular Effective Date(s): June 1, 2016
Committee(s):	Appropriations
Broad Subject(s):	State Debt (Bond Bills)
Narrow Subject(s):	Ethnic Affairs Forests and Parks -see also- Program Open Space; Trees Montgomery County Private Schools Public Works, Board of State Bonds

We petition the Obama administration to: direct the CPSC to ensure playgrounds + sports fields are safe and the in-fills do not exceed harmful chemical limits.

One ton of crumb rubber leaking out of bag at Wootton HS.

We petition the Obama administration to:

direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ensure playgrounds and sports fields are safe and the in-fills do not exceed harmful chemical limits.

Direct the CPSC to ensure playgrounds, play surfaces & athletic fields for young athletes are safe by meeting the standards for lead & harmful chemicals set out in law for children’s products. The CPSIA of 2008 defines a children's product as a “consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger." Industry marketing of tire derived surfaces clearly target children’s use. Yet, the CPSC has balked at categorizing these surfaces as children’s products neither have they acted to make these surfaces safe for children. Therefore, please direct the CPSC to ensure these products comply with the statutory limits for children’s products, so that these surfaces are lead-safe & don't pose a contamination risk to children.

 http://wh.gov/iGCcg

Board of Education Incumbent Faces Off Against Four Challengers in First Candidates’ Forum

Jeanette Dixon, a former MCPS high school principal  who’s also challenging Kauffman, said Monday that she disagreed with Kauffman on the secretive nature of the meetings before Starr’s resignation.
“You hired someone with a half-million dollar salary and benefits,” Dixon said. “I think you’d be accountable for saying why you did not want to keep him in that position.”

Board of Education Incumbent Faces Off Against Four Challengers in First Candidates’ Forum: One candidate repeatedly criticized the performance of at-large member Phil Kauffman at event dominated by talk of closing the achievement gap

Elrich: Westbard plan is a "naked real estate ploy..."

...Sumner resident Collins perhaps summed it up best in his email to the Council. Noting that proponents of the plan cite the County's new standard that traffic congestion only needs to be kept "tolerable," Collins took that a step further.

"If 18.1% projected overcrowding for Elementary Schools, 16.9% projected overcrowding for Middle Schools, and 17.9% projected overcrowding for High Schools is deemed TOLERABLE by the MoCo Council, then school capacity is not a reason for the Council to approve less residential density than what is proposed in the Westbard Sector Plan forwarded to the MoCo Council by the Planning Board."...

Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row: Elrich: Westbard plan is a "naked real estate ploy...: When the vast majority of residents are vehemently opposed to the proposed Westbard sector plan, and the chair of the Montgomery County Pl...

Petition: Support naming the new Clarksburg middle school for Mrs. Hallie Wells

The Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) has proposed four names for the new middle school in Clarksburg.  Three of them are former members of the BOE and the other was the principal of Wootton High School in Rockville.
As an alternative, we ask for your support in naming the new school for Mrs. Hallie Wells.

 https://www.change.org/p/montgomery-county-board-of-education-name-the-new-middle-school-in-clarksburg-for-mrs-hallie-wells